The Black Halo
by Strawberry Nightmare
Summary: Six months after meeting Cabe Gallo and Team Scorpion, Leah Hudson is settling into her new life as a Homeland Security Agent. Team Scorpion is taking hits from every angle and a case in Omaha may just very well break them for good when Cabe is forced to call in Leah for backup. Walter, as he is known to do, takes things too far and puts the team in mortal and emotional danger. Wil
1. When the Lights Are Down

**Chapter 1-** When the Lights Are Down

 _Cause when the lights are down there's no more to say. Love is the real pain, an internal revolution in our minds. –Kamelot_ "When the Lights Are Down"

She had been having a lovely dream. She was on a beach somewhere warm, lounging on a chair in a sexy bikini with a crazy design over her breasts, which was going to give her an interesting tan line. Next to her, her boyfriend Cabe Gallo was asleep in his chair. His minimally hairy chest glistened in the sun, still slightly wet from their last excursion into the ocean. He slept with a small smile on his face, like he could tell she was staring at him.

And then she woke up, pulled away from the beach vacation and pushed back into her real life.

Leah Hudson's eyes shot open at the bracing sound of a ringing cell phone. That was not a good way to start her day off.

Cabe grumbled next to her, turning over to search for his phone. Leah did the same, turning to her night stand to grab her phone. She pulled it to her and was happy to see it was not her phone ringing.

While Cabe picked up his phone, Leah pulled the sheet back up to her neck and closed her eyes.

"Understood, Cooper. I'll let the guys know," he said in a sad voice. "So much for my day off," Cabe said.

Leah grunted. She turned over to face him. He was sitting up in bed, the sheet falling down and pooling at his waist. "Criminals don't care about days off, Cabe. They're so disrespectful."

He smiled down at her. "At least you still get your day off," he joked.

Leah playfully slapped his arm. "Don't jinx it, jackass."

"I better get dressed," he said, not moving.

"You'll need to shower first."

"No time."

Leah pushed the sheet off of her and sat up, delightfully naked. "Poor you," she said, turning and climbing out of bed. She walked around the large bed and headed for her bathroom, adding a little shake of her hips as she passed by Cabe's side of the bed.

"They can wait," he added, following her quickly.

Once Cabe had left, Leah got back into bed. She knew she should just get up and do something, but it was her first day off since before she left for the Homeland training course. It had been over 2 months since the last time she could sleep in as long as she wanted. Since Cabe was going to be busy, she might as well take advantage of sleeping alone.

Besides, she hoped to go back to that beach dream.

Leah slept for another hour before her body finally decided it was time to get up and stay up. Unfortunately, she did not go back to her beach dream.

Days off were not rare for Leah when she was slumming it as an assassin. It wasn't as if her services were needed every day. She spent most of her time off with her kids.

Mary and Oliver were mostly raised by their grandparents, her husband's parents, but technically Leah had remained their legal guardian. She spent time with them when she could, but she was also very careful to make sure the Irish never learned about the kids. Leah knew enough about Andy and Sean to know they had no qualms about using loved ones to bring people in line.

The kids had gone through all of the stages of "you're not my real mom", "you're never around", "you don't even know us". Oliver was still in the "you're not my real mom", so he was more distant than his sister, but he did still keep in touch, even if Leah had to force the issue at times.

Mary knew what Leah had done for the Irish. Oliver knew a little bit, which Leah figured was the main reason why he was distant.

She didn't blame him.

The twins had turned 21 just after Leah finished her training. She still couldn't believe they were old enough to drink legally. It still felt like just yesterday that Leah and Jeff had received the news that his brother and sister-in-law had died in a car accident, leaving the 1-year-old twins in their custody.

Leah never really wanted kids. She didn't feel like much of a mother. It hadn't changed much once she begun taking care of the twins, but after Jeff died and it was just her, she did get far more protective of them.

She still didn't feel like their mother, but she'd do what she could for them.

Leah had just finished her breakfast when her cell phone rang. Picking it up, she saw it was Cabe calling. "Hello."

"Hey, I won't be able to come over today. We've got to go out of state for a job and I'm not sure how long it will take," Cabe said, sounding rushed.

"Is it serious?" she asked.

"Could be. I'll call you tonight, okay?"

"Focus on work. I'll be fine. Take care of everyone," she said, feeling a pang. She wished she could be out in the field.

"I will."

Leah hung up and tossed her phone on the couch next to her.

She hated having days off.

Cabe wasn't sure about today. Walter was acting a little weird, Paige was mad at him about something, Tim was low key mad at Walter, but pretending he was fine with everything, Toby was still upset about Happy being married and Happy was trying to forget the whole thing, and Sylvester seemed upset by everyone else.

And going out of state for a job wasn't going to help.

Cabe had barely made it to the garage when Deputy Director Cooper called to tell him about a case in Nebraska. Two Omaha Homicide Detectives had gone missing and there had been a cyber attack on the police headquarters. Walter and Sylvester's quick look brought up some serious issues, so Cooper told the team to head to Omaha.

Now they were on a plane, no one talking to each other, on their way to Omaha, Nebraska.

"Leah got any plans for her day off?" Paige asked, sitting next to Cabe.

"Well, our plans were to stay in bed for as long as possible and then watch TV all day, so I assume she'll follow that as best she can," he answered.

"I'm sure she could use the day off."

"Yeah, I bet it's real exhausting sitting at a desk answering the phone all day," Walter joked bitterly.

Cabe didn't even look at Walter, but Paige glared at him.

"You're oversimplifying her job because you don't approve of her," Paige admonished their team leader. "That's childish behavior, Walter. You're an adult, act like it." She turned back to Cabe. "Ignore him, Cabe."

Cabe gave her a grateful smile, but it still broke his heart that Walter still couldn't pass up making a catty remark about Leah anytime she was brought up. Leah avoided the garage like it was a quarantine zone.

Cabe loved Walter. He was like a son to him. But he also loved Leah. She was an important part of his life now. Cabe didn't want to give up either person, but it was becoming too clear that this wasn't going to work.

He'd wait until after the case to deal with it. This wasn't the time. People's lives were on the line.

"Typical Team Scorpion," Sylvester grumbled bitterly from behind Walter's seat. "Always getting in fights while on a case. Why can't we just be mad when we're not under pressure to solve cases?"

Looking back at the young man, Cabe felt regret rise in his chest. He wanted Team Scorpion to work, but everyone seemed to be on the outs.

What had happened to this team?

Cabe leaned back in his seat, sighing. Things sure were a lot easier before half the team fell in love with the other half.


	2. Silence of the Darkness

Chapter 2- Silence of the Darkness

 _In the silence of the darkness, I can't pretend I'm wide awake, afraid I could go under. –Kamelot_ "Silence of the Darkness"

Omaha was not what Cabe was expecting. He expected rows and rows of cornfields. There were farms, of course, but Omaha was still very much a city.

They were greeted at the airport by a local Homeland Security agent, Penelope Ortiz. She handed them the keys to an SUV, while she drove a different one. Cabe chose to ride with her, along with Walter, Paige, and Sylvester, so they could get up to speed.

"What do we have going on exactly?" Cabe asked.

"Two homicide detectives went missing yesterday while investigating the murder of a well known local TV news anchor, Sophia Miller. Last night, the police department was hacked. It doesn't look like anything was deleted, but they certainly had the chance to look at a lot of stuff. The trouble is, without the detectives, we can't know if anything from their case is missing or if it was tampered with," she explained as she drove.

"That can be easy enough to tell in code," Walter said.

"Omaha may be a city of half a million, but admittedly the police department is maybe a little behind in terms of their cyber division," Agent Ortiz said. "Whatever Scorpion can do will be a huge help."

"Any news on the detectives?" Cabe asked.

"None so far."

"But you're sure both events are connected?"

"From what our tech guy told us, it appears they mostly stayed in the file of the case the detectives were working on. But these guys are mostly old school, so a lot of their work is on paper, as opposed to the computer. So there wasn't much for the hackers to find. But yes, we're about 95% sure the events are connected," Ortiz told them.

"Okay, it gives us somewhere to start. Sylvester and Walter," Cabe said as he turned around in his seat, "you two can start on the hackers. Tim and I, with everyone else's help, will start looking at the case the detectives were working on. It would appear that whoever committed the murder didn't want them to solve the case, so our best bet is to solve the case."

The trio nodded to Cabe.

"We'll do what we need to to find them, Cabe. Don't worry," Paige said, as if Cabe had some level of investment in this other than wanting to find two missing detectives.

Cabe smiled at her and turned around in his seat. He hoped they'd find the two men.

The Omaha Police Department Headquarters was a bigger than expected building, but still fairly small as far as headquarters went. It didn't, from the outside, seem to be much bigger than Scorpion's garage. It was, but not by much.

Agent Ortiz took the group inside and to a conference room where they would set up.

"The Commissioner will be coming by to meet you as well as the Captain of Homicide, Peter Jones. Otherwise, you should be left alone to do your stuff. But if you need any help, I'm only a phone call away," Ortiz said.

"Thank you for your help," Cabe said, shaking her hand.

"Good luck."

With that, the group of seven were left alone to do their work. Cabe waited a few minutes while Walter and Sylvester set up their computer equipment before Captain Peter Jones made his way to their makeshift office.

"Agent Gallo?" the man asked, entering. He was slightly taller than Cabe, thinning red hair, and more wrinkles than Cabe could count.

"Good morning, sir," Cabe said, extending his hand.

"I'm Captain Peter Jones and I run Homicide. I thank you for taking time out to help find our boys," he said, shaking Cabe's hand.

"Of course. We law enforcement have to stick together. What can you tell me about their case?"

"Detectives Muncie and Harrison were investigating the murder of Sophia Miller, a morning news anchor on one of our local channels. She didn't show up to work, an assistant went to her home and found her dead. Miss Miller was well liked by everyone, seemingly, but the murder was pretty brutal. She was bludgeoned to death," Jones explained.

"Anything in their files point to why hacking was involved?" Walter asked.

"Nothing that I saw. Detective Laurens will be bringing the boxes in for you so you can go through. She can help out if you need it. I looked over a little bit, but Laurens is more familiar with it."

"We'll do our best. These guys are good at what they do."

The Captain gave the group a smile and left the room. Almost immediately, a dark brown woman entered the room with a box of files.

"Hi, I'm Detective Laurens! Here is box one of three for you," she said as she sat the box down in one of the chairs.

"Let me help you," Tim said.

"That would be swell!" She smiled brightly and turned to leave the room, Tim following her.

Cabe sat down next to the box and began going through the file on top. He glanced up a minute later as Tim and Laurens returned with the other two boxes.

This was going to take a while.

Her day off was boring. Leah sat, binge watching Ripper Street all day. She crawled into bed after eating ramen for dinner and slept poorly, missing Cabe. Which was funny since it wasn't as if they had been sleeping together for long, but already she was used to their schedule and didn't like when the schedule changed.

Morning came and Leah was up at 5am to get ready for another long day in her cubicle. She had been at Homeland for a month since finishing her training. She was still in the probie phase, so they kept her in a cubicle running logistics for agents in the field.

It actually wasn't terrible, it was just long.

But having a real desk was pretty neat. She got to decorate her desk with photos, mostly of her kids. Leah did, however, keep one photo of her with Cabe next to her computer.

Most days, it comforted her. Today, it made her sad since he was out of town. He had gone out of the city since they began dating, but this was his first overnight trip out of the state. Leah didn't know where he went, just that he was no longer in California.

Boy, did she miss him.

Right on cue, her desk phone rang. Expecting a call from an agent, Leah picked up the phone.

"Agent Hudson. How can I help you today?"

"So professional," Cabe said from the other end.

Her heart skipped and she smiled uncontrollably.

"Cabe! How are you? How is the case going?" she asked, speaking quickly from excitement.

"I'm fine. It's a tough one, which is why I'm calling."

She sat up. "Oh? What's going on?"

"Two homicide detectives have gone missing and there was a cyber attack on the police headquarters, which Walter determined was connected," he began to explain.

Leah listened intently as Cabe told her about the different aspects of the case. As he talked, Leah felt a sort of dread building.

"We could use your help, Leah."

She cringed. "My help? I don't know how to solve cases."

"You were a cop once, remember?" he joked.

"A century ago. I'm still confused on why you think I can help?"

"Right. Sylvester and Walter think the cyber attack, and maybe the murder, was orchestrated by the Russian mob."

Leah almost screamed. Of course. She was the resident expert on all things mob related. Of course they came to her.

She sighed. "Cabe, you know how dangerous it is for me to get involved."

"I don't want you in the field, so to speak, Lee. I was just hoping you could come to Omaha and help us out from the department."

A record scratch sounded in her head. "I'm sorry, where?"

"Omaha. Nebraska? You know? Corn fields?"

Leah felt the panic rising in her chest.

Cabe knew she had been a cop. That she had started in Michigan and moved around a couple of times. But she left out she ended her career in Omaha.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Leah took a deep breath, trying to settle her thoughts and her racing heart.

"Lee?" Cabe asked.

She opened her eyes and looked up at the ceiling. Could she really say no? What if the cops were people she had known? Did that matter? She had a duty as a federal agent to help, didn't she?

"Yeah, yeah I'll come."


	3. The Great Pandemonium

**Author's Note:** I'm so sorry this is so late this week. It's been a rough couple of weeks and it's only going to get busier. But I will try to be better about updating on Mondays!

 **Chapter 3-** The Great Pandemonium

" _One more down in accordance with my fate. One long drift across the lake of Avalon. One more trip that I must create. And my eyes sweep the shore that was always there, a blood red line through the sonisphere. I can't resolve where it's coming from, I sense it's the great pandemonium." –Kamelot_ "The Great Pandemonium"

Leah was a mess during the entire flight from Los Angeles to Omaha. She tried to sleep, but she couldn't stop thinking about what she was walking into.

It had been almost 22 years since she was fired from the Omaha Police Department. Leah had worked there for just under two years and had tried to be a better cop, but a year in she started to mess up again. She let her temper get the better of her. Her Captain, Glen Kline, was one of the best she had ever worked with, but not even he could get her under control. She felt guilty when he finally had to fire her for her temper. Leah had really wanted to be better, but seeing white man after white man get off for domestic violence, rape, and so on really got to her.

Leah had no idea what she would find in Omaha. Would there still be Officer's there that she knew? Would anyone recognize her? Or could she go about the work in peace?

Worse, what if the two detectives were people she knew?

By the time her flight landed in Omaha, Leah felt like she would just crawl into the first hole she found. Taking her time, she went to her hotel first in an attempt to calm down.

She had nothing to hide. Cabe knew she had been fired and that she had a poor temper as a cop.

And yet?

She was terrified.

Worried.

Stupid.

Once she changed, Leah headed to the police department. It looked better than it had 20 years ago, which wasn't surprising. A lot can change in 20 years.

Leah stepped out of the cab and after briefly pausing to push down the vomit, she walked up the stairs. Inside, the lobby was full of people moving from place to place. She had to admit, she was happy to see the police department doing well.

After signing in, Leah pinned her badge to her black blazer and headed upstairs to Homicide, where Cabe and Scorpion had set up shop.

Sylvester saw her first. Sitting behind his laptop, typing away, he briefly glanced up and had to do a double take as he saw her. A smile exploded on his face and she could almost see some of his anxiety lift away.

"Good afternoon, everyone," Leah said as she entered the conference room.

Everyone except for Walter smiled at her in greeting. She glanced at him for a moment, watching as he focused on his laptop. She wished he didn't hate her so much, only for Cabe.

"Thank you for coming, Lee," Cabe said, looking up at her from his seat. He was surrounded by files, clearly still swimming through the case.

"Like I could say no," she said, smiling at him. Leah stared uncertainly at the room, unsure of where to start. It had been 20 years since she worked on a legitimate case. She has done some of the basics of solving a case when researching her victims for the Irish, but it still wasn't the same.

"Welcome to the case, Agent Hudson," Paige said from her corner of the room. She was reading through a thick file. "Pick a file and have fun!"

Leah sighed, grabbed the file on top of the pile nearest to her and took a seat in the only remaining open seat. As she opened the file to begin reading, someone entered the room.

"Pardon the interruption, I was hoping for an update," a deep voice said.

Leah felt a twinge of familiarity and looked up.

"Captain?" she said quizzically.

At 6'5, the black man standing in the doorway was an imposing figure, but Leah knew better. Glen Kline had been her Captain when she was in Omaha. He had been her mentor and her friend. She had felt horrible when he had to fire her. It wasn't his fault. He had tried to make her better, but Leah just couldn't handle it.

"Hudson?" he said, stunned to see her.

Leah didn't know whether to smile or cry.

"You're not a Captain anymore," Leah commented as she noticed he was wearing a new uniform.

"Commissioner now, actually," he said, the stunned look changing to one of pride. "And you?"

"Special Agent Leah Hudson of Homeland Security," she told him, feeling a burst of pride as his smile grew larger.

"I always knew there was greatness in you."

Leah blushed. "It's just Homeland, Cap. I'm not saving the world." She looked down at the floor, embarrassed.

"You two know each other?" Cabe said.

Leah looked over at him, not sure of what exactly to say.

"Hudson was a police officer here many years ago," Glen answered for her.

"Back when I had anger issues," she added with a small smile.

"Not much has changed then," Walter quipped.

Leah ignored him. "I'm glad to see you got out of the department, Cap. Excuse me, Commissioner. About time Omaha had someone competent in charge."

"I appreciate it, Hudson. But this case isn't making me look good. I'm getting the blame for the inability of Homicide to find the Ms. Miller's killer and to find our two missing detectives. But with you looking for our boys, I'm sure we'll find them. No one better to find them, I think."

"What do you mean?" Leah asked.

"Who better to find Muncie and Harrison then one of their friends?"

Leah felt her heart drop. Muncie and Harrison.

Greg Muncie and Lenny Harrison. The two men had been at Omaha PD long before Leah joined, but they instantly took a liking to her. She wasn't so enthused by them at first, but learned to love them. They did, after all, have her back. And she had theirs. They all were beat cops, just doing their jobs. Muncie and Harrison tried to take the rap for Leah on a couple of occasions, but she hated them taking the heat for her mistakes and her anger.

And now they were missing?

"I-I uh, I didn't know it was Munce and Lenny," Leah finally managed to say.

The room was quiet.

"Oh, Hudson, I'm sorry. I thought you know," Glen said.

Leah shook her head. "It's ok. It's fine. I-uh, Scorpion will find them. They're good at this kind of stuff." Leah finally managed to make eye contact with Glen. He was 20 years older and yet little had changed with him. His graying hair and wrinkles made him look a little older, but he was still the Captain she had remembered. Leah forced a smile. "Don't worry Commissioner. We'll find them. And we'll solve the murder. No worries."

Glen smiled at her, believing her as he always had.

But as she said the words, she just wasn't sure. Leah peeked over at Walter. He had a strange look on his face. He almost looked sorry for her and yet…he looked pleased at this new information.

Leah looked down at the file in her lap. She had to solve this case. She had to find Muncie and Harrison.


	4. My Confession

**Chapter 4- My Confession**

" _Standing in the summer breeze inhaling life again. A new day has come. A chance to relive, forget and forgive."_

It wasn't too farfetched to say that Cabe was shocked when he heard that Leah had once lived in Omaha. He knew she had been fired from a few police departments before giving up on her career in law enforcement. What really shocked him was finding out that not only did she know the Commissioner, but the two missing detectives were once her friends and coworkers.

This case had just gotten far more interesting and tangled.

"Well, what do we have so far?" Tim asked, trying to bring the group back on task. It had been several minutes since the Commissioner left and everyone was still reeling from the news.

"Sophia Miller, a local TV News anchor, was found dead in her home by an assistant. She was bludgeoned to death. No unusual complaints. The station got a handful of complaints from mostly men about her attire."

"So the usual men can't handle a woman in charge?" Paige quipped.

"Sounds like. She's had a couple of stalkers over the years, but they've all been arrested or left town. The detectives were calling the ones who left town to check up on them. One checks out as being out of town and having no contact. There were still two on their list, but Paige and I have tracked them down and they've got alibis," Tim explained.

"What were Munce and Lenny doing when they got kidnapped?" Leah asked.

"There's not much in their notes, but Sly and I tracked their phones to Miller's house. That was their last ping before shutting off. Somebody should head out to her house and see what's there," Walter said.

"Tim and Paige, you two head out to the house and see what you can find," Cabe ordered.

"Oh no," Leah said, pushing the files in her lap to the side. "I'm going."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Cabe said, looking at her. He knew what she was thinking.

"Look, I know I haven't seen them in 20-something years, but I knew how they think as beat officers. Those twits can't have gotten much smarter as detectives," she said. Leah shook her head, grimacing to herself. "Oh that's rude. They could be dead. But really, I know how they think."

Cabe stared at her for a moment. She stared back, imploring him to listen to her reason. He didn't want to, but he also knew she might have a point.

"Fine. Paige, Sly, you come with Leah and I. Tim, keep an eye on these guys. Call me if you find anything," Cabe finally said, climbing to his feet.

Leah looked disappointed for a second, like she imagined he'd let her go on her own. Fat chance of that.

The disappointment disappeared from her face and was replaced with a smile. Sylvester grumbled as he begrudgingly followed the two agents out of the room.

"I don't know why I have to come," Sylvester said.

"Because we might need a tech guy and Walter hates me," Leah joked as they walked out of the front door.

"I can see the logic," Sylvester quipped. "Still don't like it."

Cabe smiled. At least Leah could have a sense of humor about it.

As Cabe drove the trio to the crime scene, he had to wonder about Leah's life in Omaha. She never told him what cities she had lived in. He only knew that she had grown up in Michigan. Leah didn't talk much about what she had gone through as a cop, other than she had problems with her temper and had gotten fired.

"So you lived here?" Sylvester asked from the backseat.

"Twenty years ago. It almost feels like a different world," Leah said as she looked out the window. There was a hint of longing in her voice. "I was a different person back then, certainly."

"I always forget you're old," Sylvester said.

Leah turned around slowly in her seat, her eyes wide and her lips thin. Cabe held back a laugh.

"What-uh, what I meant was I forget you're older than us, than me. I'll shut up," Sylvester stuttered.

"Don't remind me, Sly," Leak joked as she turned back around in her seat. "I was only 22 when I came to Omaha and begged for a job. Funny to think that by 24 I was unemployed."

"What made you leave? The mob?" Sylvester asked after a moment.

Leah shrugged. "Life happened. The mob, that came later. Omaha was nice, but boring. You've gotta understand Sly, I embarrassed myself by being a bad cop and getting fired. Sticking around wasn't much of an option."

"Is that why you came back?" Cabe found himself asking. "To redeem yourself?"

Leah turned to him. "I came back because you asked me to. I didn't know what I'd find or who I'd find, but this is sort of my job." She shrugged again. "And yeah, I'd like to be redeemed."

Sophia Miller lived in a beautiful one-story home on the nice side of Omaha. The caution tape on the door was the only outside indication that something terrible had happened in the lovely home.

Inside, Cabe was surprised to see the home was sparsely decorated, like Sophia had barely spent time there.

"Minimalist?" Leah surmised.

"A bit odd, isn't it?" Sylvester asked, looking around the living room. "I mean, no pictures of friends or family. A couple of paintings. Don't normal people decorate?"

"Maybe she wasn't normal," Leah said, "or maybe she was. Some normal people don't like things. It happens. It's rare, I would think, but it happens."

Cabe looked around the living room, searching for anything that might seem out of place. He wandered through the living room and into her study. There was a bookcase that was only half full and a small wooden desk that had nothing on it but a blank pad of paper. The dust on the desk, however, suggested it once had a laptop.

The books were mostly classics. They looked to be in pristine condition as if they had never been read.

"Her bedroom is worse than her living room," Leah said from the doorway.

Cabe turned around. "This isn't much better. Are we sure she lived here? I get minimalism, but this? How does someone own books that they've never opened? Or live with almost nothing."

"Maybe she lived at her office?" Leah suggested. "It's a little weird, but so is owning fourteen different pairs of Doc Martens."

Cabe eyed her suspiciously.

Leah shrugged. "I've always liked them and now they come in all kinds of styles and colors. We all have our things. Maybe she just didn't like…stuff." Leah waved her hands around. "And I know plenty of people that keep books just to look smart."

He chuckled. That certainly was true.

"Did you find anything?" he asked, leaving the room and walking back down the hallway.

Leah walked beside him, shaking her head. "Nothing unusual. Nothing that would suggest why she was murdered. I bet there was something on her laptop."

"Maybe, but there's probably also something on this," Sylvester said, holding up a phone.

"I hope so," Cabe said. They needed something to go on. None of this was making sense.

Sylvester turned it on. As it woke up, he explained where he found it. "Hidden behind one of the paintings in a cubby hole. Like she kept it there a lot."

"That's different," Leah said. "And also very suspicious."

"It's more than suspicious to hide a phone in a pre-built hole in the wall behind a painting," Cabe said. "What was she up to?"

"Whoa," Sylvester said, staring down at the phone.

"What is it?"

"This phone is full of videos. And judging by the stills, they're worth killing for," Sylvester said as he handed Cabe the phone.

He looked down at the screen. "Oh, you can bet on that."


	5. Hunter's Season

**Author's Note:** **I'm alive! I lost my inspiration for Scorpion when I got into Fantastic Beasts, but I'm back! I'm going to try really hard to get you another chapter pretty soon. I'm currently rewatching Scorpion to get my inspiration back and I'm in the middle of season 1. So sorry for the incredibly awfully long break, but I promise I am not giving up on this!**

 **Chapter 5- Hunter's Season**

 _"Someone to remember only to the ground, when the sudden glory is gone."_

The phone had several videos on it; three of which showed the victim, Sophia Miller, having sex with men that the team soon learned were respected Republican politicians. One was even a State Senator. All married, of course.

Leah wasn't surprised. The politicians that screamed the loudest about certain things were usually the ones doing it.

"Can you get any information from it, Sly?" Cabe asked.

Sylvester, after cringing about its contents, had hooked the phone up to his computer. He typed furiously for several minutes, a concentrated look on his face.

"The video with Senator Crabtree was filmed on September 16, 2016."

"It looks like it wasn't recorded here. The walls are a different color," Leah pointed out. "Unless she's painted since then."

"Furniture is different as well," Sly added. "Maybe his house?"

"Hard to say. I doubt the good senator would let us in to check."

"Anyone of these videos would be reason to kill her," Paige said. "Since the phone was still here, we can guess the Detectives didn't find it. So why take them?"

"Maybe the killer thought they had found something worth taking them for," Cabe suggested.

"A lot of maybe's," Leah noted as she looked around the living room. "It just doesn't fit." Her eyes flitted over the dark stain on the floor where the body had been found. "There is something else here we're missing. Why take them if not to ransom or kill them? They've been missing for almost a day and we still don't know anything. If the Russians have them…," she trailed off, not wanting to fully commit to the idea of what they might be experiencing.

"Talk it through," Cabe encouraged her.

Leah looked at him for a moment. The look on his face made her pause. His face was soft, a gentle smile on his face as he quietly urged her to go on. He was trusting her, although he had no reason to do so.

 _I'm just an assassin,_ she thought to herself.

"Two nights ago, Sophia Miller is murdered. Local TV personality, no known enemies, apparently enjoys sleeping with married men and filming it," she said as she began to pace the living room, avoiding the spot where Sophia had died. "Next morning, two detectives begin to investigate the murder. Somewhere along the way, they get kidnapped. Where? When? Then, there was a cyber attack on the police department that night. Possibly nothing deleted, but who knows what the actual reason for the attack was. We assume all three issues are connected. And for good reason."

"Right, Sophia is killed, but the killer can't find the videos. Waits for the cops, then kidnaps them to get the videos, but they didn't find them. So why hack the police department?" Cabe reasoned.

"Double check, most likely," Leah said. "It's what I would do." She shrugged. "If I could hack, of course. Which I can't," she added, speaking a little too quickly.

"You hacked Homeland," Sly pointed out.

Leah shrugged and shook her head at the same time. "Not really. I just opened a computer." She shook her head again. "Doesn't matter. Omaha isn't really a Russian hub. So…who did Sophia sleep with to get her in trouble?"

"If they're looking for video, then it must be on this," Sly said, holding up the phone.

Leah turned and walked towards the front window. She peeled back a curtain just a touch and peeked out. If the Russians wanted the video badly enough, then it was possible they would be watching the house.

"I don't think the videos were filmed at the men's houses," Paige said.

Leah looked over her shoulder at Paige. She was standing behind Sly, looking over his shoulder as he went through the videos on his laptop.

"Why not?" Cabe asked as he moved around Sly.

"It's always the same room," Paige said, pointing at the video stills. "If she's sleeping with these guys, maybe she's getting money out of it. Money for a second home?"

"And she wouldn't keep the videos there because the men know about the house," Cabe continued, following Paige's train of thought. "But this is the house her coworkers know about. So why didn't they trash the house when they killed her?"

"We need to take this stuff and get out of here," Leah said, looking back out of the window. There were a few cars parked on the road. She couldn't see anyone in the cars, but that didn't mean someone wasn't watching and waiting.

"Are your spidey senses tingling?" Paige joked.

"Trust me on this," Leah said as she looked back at the trio, "we need to get out of here."

"Alright, let's get our stuff and go," Cabe ordered.

Sylvester moved quickly, packing up his laptop. Leah waited anxiously by the window, her eyes scanning the road for any movement. The neighborhood was quiet, but the afternoon was burning daylight and kids would be heading home from school soon. Any Russian interference could be deadly and not just for Scorpion.

A minute later, the group left the house and headed for the SUV. Cabe lead the group while Leah followed behind. She kept her hand close to her hip to be able to make a quick grab. Something didn't feel right.

As Sly and Paige climbed into the car, both Cabe and Leah scanned around them. And then Leah spotted something.

"Cadillac, twenty feet," she said quietly to Cabe.

He slowly made the turn, saw the car, and turned back to Leah. "They won't let us get back to the precinct."

She nodded. "Does this mean I get to shoot somebody?" she asked with a smirk.

Cabe gave her a look she could only describe as "please don't", but he was smiling when he did so. "You two stay in the car," Cabe ordered Sly and Paige.

Leah could just barely hear Sly say "oh that doesn't sound good."

She felt bad for the kid. He really wasn't made for this kind of life. But few were.

With a quick glance at Cabe, Leah began heading down the street. Cabe quickly joined her at her side.

"Let's try to take them alive, shall we?" he said.

She tried not to laugh. "You got it, boss."

"Save that kind of talk for later."

This time, Leah broke out into a large smile. The pair crossed the street, heading straight for the car. Feet away, the car suddenly turned on.

"Oh hell no," Leah said through gritted teeth. She hurried up and pulled out her gun.

Cabe stepped in front of the car, holding his gun up at the driver. Leah tapped her gun on the driver's side.

"Window down or I will shoot," Leah threatened.

It took a moment, but the driver finally rolled down the window, revealing a middle aged tough guy. She was certain if she looked hard enough, she'd probably find a few Russian prison tattoos. Leah pulled her jacket away to show her badge on her belt.

"Homeland Security. Now, you want to explain what you're doing here," she asked.

The man behind the wheel glared at her. She ignored him and leaned on the window frame.

"Nu, dedushka?" she asked in Russian.

"I'm just looking for an address," the man finally said in a heavy Russian accent. He looked Leah up and down. "Itak, do svidaniya vnuchka."

 _Granddaughter._

She forced a smile. "Let's see that license, dedushka."

"I don't have to show you nothing. Move."

Leah glanced back at Cabe. He was weighing their options. After a moment, Cabe put his gun in its holster and moved out of the way of the car.

"Let 'em go," he ordered softly.

She looked back into the car and smiled at the man. "Uvidimsya." _Be seeing you._ Leah holstered her weapon and backed up, watching as Cabe stepped up beside her and the car drove off.

"Didn't know you spoke Russian," he commented. They began walking back towards their SUV.

"Not much, but enough. He called me granddaughter," Leah said, grimacing. "I'm not sure if I should be offended or not."

"I guess it's a compliment since he didn't look much older than me," Cabe joked.

Leah lightly elbowed Cabe. "Don't worry, old man. You still move well."


	6. Karma

**Chapter 6- Karma**

" _Have I been just and righteous? What is glory? I know I've town and taken life. And here I stand, a small and simple man."_

They returned to the precinct and found the rest of their team still going over evidence. Sylvester immediately took a seat next to Walter to begin showing him the videos they had found.

"We need to find out where that house is," Cabe told the group.

"What about the Russians?" Paige asked as she sat down.

Leah frowned. "They'll keep an eye on us and we'll keep an eye on them." She picked the case file that Muncie had been accumulating. "Has anyone spoken to Muncie and Harrison's families?"

"I personally did," someone said as they entered the room.

Looking up, Leah was surprised to see Peter Jones standing in the doorway. Jones had been a homicide detective when Leah was in Omaha. He hadn't been the best detective, but Omaha wasn't exactly Los Angeles. Murders were not necessarily rare, but they didn't happen at a large percentage either.

So he hadn't had a lot of work.

"Jones?"

His hair had lost a lot of its red color and was thinned to the point it was almost pointless to pretend he had much hair, add in the wrinkles and he certainly looked 20 years older. Leah almost chuckled. Muncie was also a redhead and people were always joking with the two men that they were brothers or father and son. Jones hated it and Muncie egged it on.

"And you are?" he questioned.

She smirked. "Homeland Security Agent Leah Hudson."

The surprise on his face was unmistakable. "Cross?"

"Been a long time since that was my name, but yes. Still a detective, Jones?" she asked, looking him up and down.

He postured, preening for the room. "I happen to be Captain of Homicide now."

Leah bit back a snort. "Cap-Captain? Wow, that's…unexpected." She looked around the room, ignoring faces and focusing on the paint on the walls. "No wonder Munce and Harrison are detectives now." She couldn't help but grimace.

It wasn't that Jones was a bad guy, but he wasn't the guy Leah would have picked to be Captain. But what did she know?

"Muncie and Harrison are great detectives. I would have thought you would be fighting harder to find them. Weren't they your only friends?" Jones snarked.

Leah's head snapped back around to look at the Captain. She tried not to growl at him. It would be easy to hit him.

It would be easy to shoot him.

"Yeah, I seem to remember Muncie took the fall for you several times, didn't he? Harrison too, I'm sure. Great friends."

The room was silent and Leah could feel the eyes of Scorpion on her. She was used to this, so her body made no attempt to blush. But she could feel her heart beating quickly in her chest and she could feel that familiar rush to anger. She wanted to hit something.

Or someone.

"Better friends than the cops who tried to catch sight of me changing out of my uniform," Leah snapped. She stood up from her chair slowly, setting Muncie's file on the table. "Better friends than the cops who tried to cop a feel or the ones who didn't give me backup that time those redneck farmers pulled shotguns on me." She took a slow step towards Jones, who took an unconscious step back. "So yeah, Muncie and Harrison were great friends, which is why this group is here to find them. And trust me, if anyone can find them, it's Scorpion. So if you're not going to help, you can leave."

Jones swallowed heavily, staring at Leah, unsure of what he should do. He looked around the room, but was only met with uncaring stares. He looked back at Leah and frowned.

"A shame you haven't changed," he said.

"I'm not the only one," Leah replied before sitting back down. She pulled Muncie's file back into her lap and began reading it.

The silence continued for another minute before Walter and Sylvester went back to typing on their computers. Cabe took a seat next to Leah and leaned in.

"Everything okay, Lee?" he asked quietly.

She nodded. "I leave enemies wherever I go," she said. She glanced up at Walter quickly and then over at Cabe. "Just the way my life has gone." Leah tried to add a smile, but she knew it was too forced.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. You're not the person you were twenty years ago. Neither am I. The important thing is that we find these two detectives, right?"

The smile came easier this time and she nodded. "Right."

Cabe smiled back at her and lightly padded her leg; then he stood up and went back to the file he was looking at. Leah watched him go back to his seat, a feeling of hope in her chest. That was one of the reasons she loved him.

She focused on the file, reading through Muncie's notes. Muncie was a huge note taker, which Leah could never completely understand. He always seemed to find words for even the smallest situation. Even though he had only been on the case for a few hours before they disappeared, he had written quite a lot.

Including a lot of questions.

 _Spoke to colleagues. No sense of Ms. Miller leading double life. What was she up to?_

 _Ms. Miller spends little time at work. What is she doing?_

 _Where does she spend her time?_

 _Who is she?_

"Anything on the videos, Walter?" Paige asked.

"Most of the videos appear to have the same angle, but some of them do show more of the room. One video does show a window. I'm currently running it through a program to analyze the scenery outside of the room. We may be able to narrow down what part of town it was filmed in," he answered, typing as he talked.

"How long is that going to take?" Cabe asked.

"The angle isn't great, Cabe. It could take ten minutes or it could take an hour."

"Well, it's dinner time. Why don't we let it run and we can get something to eat?" Sylvester suggested, looking happily at the group.

Leah smirked.

"Food sounds very good," Toby pitched in.

"Okay, Tim and I will go and get something and bring it back. What does everyone want?" Paige said, standing up. She grabbed a notebook and began taking orders from everyone.

Leah looked at the last page in Muncie's file. It said only one thing, a name.

 _Arkady Krupin._

Leah shut the file and pursed her lips, thinking. She didn't recognize the name, though that wasn't surprising. She had shot a few Russians in her time, but she hadn't done business with them enough to know who any of the movers and shakers were.

"How long had she owned the house?" Leah asked out loud.

"A year next month," Tim answered. "Why?"

"How far back to the videos go?"

"Ten months," Sylvester answered.

Leah looked up at the ceiling, thinking. Something changed. Was it meeting the Russians? Is that what got Sophia into this mess? Or was it getting into having sex with married men and filming it that got Sophia into this mess?

"The videos could be a symptom or the cause. Can we find out what she did a year ago? Did she travel? Go out of the country? Perhaps she went to Russia?" Leah questioned.

"A relatively quick look," Sylvester said, beginning to type on his computer, momentarily forgetting about the food.

"What are you thinking?" Cabe asked.

She looked over at him, shaking her head. "Too many questions. Too many unknown variables with Sophia. It could take us days to figure out what she was up to and by then, the guys could be dead. We don't know why they're being held. If its information the kidnappers are after, Munce and Harrison are dead very soon."

"So how far do we investigate her before we can find something to lead us to them?" Sylvester asked, briefly looking up from his computer, concern on his face.

"We need to find out if there are any Russians on those videos. You confirmed the hacking was by Russians, right? So if we assume the events are connected, then we assume it's a Russian on one of the videos that we need to find. It's just a question of what led Sophia to this point."

"It doesn't matter why she filmed these videos," Walter interrupted.

Pulling her lips thin, Leah looked at Walter. "It could, Walter. Her death matters in this too," she said.

"We're here to find two missing detectives. They can solve the murder later," he shot back.

"Technically I think you were called in to solve the hacking problem, Walter. _I'm_ here to find two missing detectives _and_ solve a murder."

"I really hate it when mommy and daddy fight," Tobias joked from the other side of the room.

Walter shot a glare at Tobias before he looked back at his computer. "This is going to take a while. I'm going to go get something to eat," he said, standing up.

"Walter," Cabe warned, but Walter ignored him and headed out of the room.

Leah frowned. She knew she shouldn't fight with Walter, but the guy made it so easy.

"According to this, Sophia went to Russia a year ago for an investigation. She reported live from Moscow. Only time she's been to Russia according to her passport," Sylvester said after a moment of awkward silence.

"Okay, so maybe she met someone in Russia? Let's focus on the first few videos she recorded," Leah said.

Sylvester nodded. "Got it. Running facial recognition, but it could take a while."

Sighing, Leah stood up. "Then I'm going to go eat and then go to my hotel to relax. It's been a long day."

Cabe stood up, buttoning his jacket as he did so. "How about Italian?" he asked with a smile.

Leah smiled at him and nodded. "Sounds perfect." It had been a few days since they last went out to eat. Scorpion kept Cabe pretty busy, even in the evening.


	7. Nights of Arabia

**Author's Note: Hello again! So sorry for the long break, but work has been kicking my butt and I just haven't been inspired. I'm going to try to use NaNo this month as a force to get me writing my fanfics again, so hopefully I will update with Chapter 8 very soon!**

 **Chapter 7- Nights of Arabia**

" _Lost inside a shadow, erase the sins I've made. Heavenly reward me with mercy on my fate."_

A lot had changed in Omaha since she last lived here, but Leah was delighted to find her favorite Italian restaurant was still open.

They were seated a table fairly quickly and gave their order. Once they were alone, a familiar look crossed Cabe's face.

"I know," Leah said quickly.

"Lee-" he began, but Leah waved him off.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Omaha, but it's just…how do I even begin to tell you about all of the shit I've done? I don't want you to think less of me, Cabe." Leah felt her voice catch. She didn't want to lose Cabe. Meeting him had changed her life and he brought out the good in her.

Plus he was a damn fine lover.

Cabe reached across the table to grab her hand, holding it tenderly. "I'm not going to think less of you, Lee. I understand that you had a bad past, but you're better than that. You show it to me every day." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

Leah smiled at Cabe. "I don't deserve you, Cabe." Leah pulled her hand back and took a sip of her wine. With a deep breath, she began to tell him about her life.

"I was born in Michigan and I have two older siblings. They're both older than you, Cabe."

He smiled, chuckling softly. "I wouldn't have guessed."

"I don't speak to them. I'm pretty sure they hate me, though I could never guess for what. Maybe they just hated being teens and then having a baby in the house, I don't know. But they left home at 18 and I rarely saw them again. I became a cop young, as you know. I was a cop in Farmington Hills, then ran away, you could say, in 1992. I was in Nashville for only a year before I had to leave for punching a fellow cop. And then I was in Omaha for just a couple of years.

"Muncie and Harrison had my back. They tried to take the fall for my fuckups, but Kline eventually stopped listening. And I don't blame him. I tried to be a good cop, I really did, but I just never figured out how to control my anger." Leah sighed heavily. "My husband was a cop, but he got out just a few months after we met because he was sick. We got married, his brother and sister-in-law died, we got the kids, and then he died.

"I panicked. And I got caught up with you know who. I don't think I was ever cut out to be a mom, but I certainly wasn't cut out to be a single mom. But I've tried to give those kids a good life. Not that I did it in the right way."

The table went silent as the waiter brought their dinner. Once he was gone, Cabe spoke.

"I'm not going to say that you always did the right thing, but I don't have to tell you that. But those kids, from what I've seen, they're good kids. Even if leaving them with their grandparents was all you did, it was the right thing."

Leah shrugged. She wasn't going to win any mother of the year awards, that's for damn sure.

"Well, now you know the fun of it. Jones was always a dick," she said.

"Seems like it. I bet you quite enjoyed that look on his face."

Leah's smile grew as she thought about it. "It was beautiful."

Cabe chuckled and continued to eat his dinner. Leah stared at him for a moment, the smile lingering on her face. She started to question why someone as upstanding as Cabe had fallen for her, but she pushed the thoughts of her head.

He loved her. He was here, with her.

It was good enough for now. Questions could be asked later.

For now, she just wanted to enjoy her time with him.

To their credit, they managed to avoid the topic of the murder throughout the dinner, focusing instead, if only for an hour, on one another. It was rare. Too often their conversations were only about work.

It was so nice to not talk about work.

Once their dinner was done, they headed back to the hotel. As they walked hand in hand like two school kids, Leah thought about how long the past two days had been. It felt like it had been a week since they had last shared a bed, but only one night had passed by.

And Muncie and Harrison were still missing.

That was the thing about real life, finding missing people didn't happen in an hour like on TV. Cases rarely could be solved in an instant.

Now that her mind was refreshed from eating a good meal and taking a moment, Leah began replaying everything she knew over in her mind, trying to figure out what she was missing.

And of course this case just _had_ to have a mafia angle.

Would she ever escape from her past?

But she would do anything to save Muncie and Harrison, even if it meant climbing back into her old world. The same went for Scorpion, including Walter, even if he did hate her for whatever reason.

"I can hear the cogs moving in your brain," Cabe joked as they reached the hotel.

"Just worried," she said simply.

Cabe squeezed her hand gently. "Of course you are. It's terrifying to know your friends are out there, maybe hurt, and you feel helpless. But we'll find them. Scorpion always does."

Leah looked over at Cabe and smiled. He didn't just make her feel better about finding her friends; _no_ , she felt like he was right. Scorpion would find Muncie and Harrison.

Everything was going to be okay.

"I know you're right. So," Leah leaned in to him as they waited at the elevator, "let's go upstairs and you make me forget for an hour."

"Only an hour?" Cabe joked. He kissed the top of her head softly. "I can do that," he whispered in his best attempt at a seductive voice. He dropped her hand and moved his arm to her back, his fingers trailing up and down her spine, getting lower with every pass.

Leah moved into him again, aching for his soft touch. She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent, wishing they could stay like this forever.


End file.
